Men's lacrosse announces 2013 schedule

Men's lacrosse announces 2013 schedule

October 19, 2012

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Head coach Jeff Tambroni announced the 2013 Penn State men's lacrosse schedule on Wednesday (Oct. 17) morning. The Nittany Lions feature a 14-game regular-season schedule highlighted by two neutral site games in Jacksonville, Fla. and PPL Park in Chester, Pa., site of the 2012 NCAA quarterfinals. Penn State men's lacrosse enters its 100th season in 2013 and looks to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.

Penn State will host five home games and travel to seven away games. The challenging schedule also has four teams from the 2012 NCAA Championship, including Final Four participant Notre Dame. Penn State enters its third season in the Colonial Athletic Association after finishing second in 2012 with a 5-1 regular-season record.

"Our staff is excited about our schedule this spring," Tambroni said, entering his third season. "Our league continues to evolve and, in conjunction with our non-league schedule, presents us with one of the most competitive schedules from top to bottom."

Penn State opens the 2013 campaign with its first trip to Ann Arbor, Mich. to face the Michigan Wolverines on Feb. 9. The Saturday game time at Michigan Stadium is yet to be determined. Last season, Penn State downed first-year Michigan, 16-9.

The following week, the Nittany Lions face Denver in the Moe's Southwest Grill Classic in Jacksonville, Fla. on Sunday, Feb. 17. Game time at Everbank Field, home of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, is set for 2 p.m.

Penn State hosts back-to-back games against Notre Dame (Saturday, Feb. 23, Noon) and Ohio State (Saturday, March 2, 1 p.m.). Last season, the Nittany Lions downed Notre Dame, 4-3, for the Fighting Irish's only loss of the season. Penn State also defeated Ohio State, 5-2, in successive defensive battles.

On Saturday, March 9, Penn State travels to Chester's PPL Park, home of the 2012 NCAA Championship and Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union, to take on Lehigh. Game time for the neutral-site battle has yet to be determined.

The next week, Penn State jumps into the CAA lacrosse schedule to face defending champion Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass. for a Noon match-up on Saturday, March 16. Three days later, Penn State journeys to play Binghamton for a Tuesday game at 4 p.m.

After a three-game break from Happy Valley, Penn State hosts the Saint Joseph's Hawks in a CAA game at 1 p.m. on March 23. Three days later, the Nittany Lions tackle local rival Bucknell on March 26 (7:30 p.m.) in Lewsiburg, Pa.

Penn State faces its fourth Keystone State squad on the schedule when it travels to Villanova on Saturday, March 30 for a 1 p.m. showdown, the final non-conference game of the season. Penn State then hosts Drexel (Apr. 6) and Towson (Apr. 13) on back-to-back Saturdays.

The Nittany Lions finish the regular season on the road at Delaware (Apr. 20) and Hofstra (Apr. 27) for a pair of 1 p.m. matchups.

Penn State will look to qualify for its third straight CAA Tournament, which is slated for Wednesday, May 1 and Saturday, May 4 at campus sites. The four-team tournament will have each game hosted by the higher seed.